Three ministries hold press conference on second one-year performance in Nay Pyi Taw

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation held a joint press conference on the three ministries’ performance in second year in office at the Ministry of Information yesterday.

Ministry of Home Affairs

Ministry of Home Affairs Permanent Secretary U Tin Myint said the ministry is implementing the objective of establishing a peaceful, modern and developed nation according to 49 laws under which the ministry conduct its work and other existing laws.

Myanmar Police Force is practicing people-centre police system in cooperation with relevant local populace and is working together with Interpol, Aseanapol, Europol and International Police Association for cross border crime prevention.

Arrangements are underway with neighboring countries to open 12 Border Liaison Offices (BLO) and arrangement to open Myanmar-Bangladesh BLO in Maungtaw, Myanmar and Teknaf, Bangladesh is made.

In drug prevention and eradication, the15-year drug eradication plan was started in 1999 and extended for another five years until 2019. Due to drug substitution planting, reforestation and maintenance of forests, there was 25 per cent reduction in opium planted area in 2017.

General Administrative Department collected four types of taxes and had collected Ks. 33,934.591 million in fiscal year 2016-2017 and had collected Ks 36,577.017 million in fiscal year 2017-2018 exceeding the targeted amount.

During the two year period, 366 new local organizations were formed, the life term of 81 local organizations were extended , 30 new international organizations were formed while life term of 42 international organizations were extended. One Stop Shops (OSSs) were established and implemented in 306 townships in Nay Pyi Taw and states/regions and provided a total of 2,919,549 services.

Bureau of Special Investigation investigated 95 business related cases from 1 April 2016 to 15 March 2018 and informed the Ministry of Planning and Finance to collect tax on more than Ks 535443.2 million and US$ 18,566,945.

The Correctional Department had constructed new prisons, expanded existing prisons and had constructed water purifiers in 94 prisons spending Ks. 854.63 million. Modern fire engines and search and rescue vehicles were added to the Fire Services Department with loan from Poland for the department to conduct effective and timely firefighting and search and rescue works.

Similarly Chief of Myanmar Police Force Aung Win Oo told of Myanmar Police Force setting up the aims of providing internal security, peace and stability, rule of law, prevention and eradicating narcotic drugs and conducting works that benefit the people.

A district police office, eight area police stations, 14 police posts were expanded and opened while five police posts were upgraded to area police stations.

To increase the security of the country’s western gate of Rakhine State border areas, a border police command office and four border police forces were expanded to three border police command offices and eight border police forces. Two central level, 12 battalion commander level and one company level flag meetings were held between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

To prevent and deter the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, regions and states level special operations were conducted eight times and 1,388 cases were opened against 1,957 suspects. In addition to cooperating with relevant organizations in conducting works benefiting the people, preventing and mitigating against natural disasters, relief, resettlement and redevelopment works were conducted in a timely manner.

Ministry of Construction

Next, Deputy Minister for Construction U Kyaw Lin explained about the ministry’s performance for the people in the second year. The Deputy Minister told of National town network system, future towns and six regional development work processes included in the ministry’s Conceptual Plan 2030.

The Union Minister explained about the establishment of five north south express roads, seven east west express roads, six main north south artery raods and 12 main east west artery roads by 2035 according to Arterial Road Network Master Plan by 2035.

During the two year period Department of Buildings had conducted building construction works for Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Construction Manuals required for Construction Industry Development were drawn. Myanmar National Building Code will be translated to Myanmar and distributed all over the country this year. Starting from 1 April, Department of Building is transformed into a Regulatory Body and will no longer construct buildings. It will only draw up regulations, standards and specifications.

During the two year period Department of Road had completed the Putao-Nawngmun-Pannadin allowing a single day return trip. Similarly about 220 miles Myitkyina-Sumprabum-Putao road was completed allowing a single day return trip while big vehicles can do the trip with a night-stop in Sumprabum.

More than 90 per cent of roads in Kayah State were upgraded to asphalt roads. In Kayin State, the Kawkareik-Myawady road was upgraded to asphalt concrete (AC) road and the Eindu-Kawkareik road is also being upgraded with the assistance from ADB. Similarly, the north south road linking the northern-most Cikha and southern-most Paletwa in Chin State is aimed to be completed in five years and upgrades of roads and bridges along the road is being conducted.

An earth road connecting Matupi and Paletwa was constructed during the two year period and the Haka-Gangaw 80 mile road section is also being upgraded with the assistance of Japan’s JICA. The road linking Thantlang to Mizoram in India was completed during the two year period and will be upgraded in the coming three years.

Five bridges, including Yathedaung Birdge on the approximately 94 miles Sittway-Ponnagyun-Yathedaung-Buthidaung-Maungtaw was opened on 31 March this year allowing Sittway to Maungtaw trip to be made in four hours. The earth road on Yathedaung-Buthidaung road section will be upgraded to concrete asphalt road. Minbu-An-Sittway road was developed during the two year period and Minbu to Sittway trip can be done with ease in eleven hours.

In addition to this, Yangon-Thandwe-Ngapali road was upgraded to shorten the travel hour to nine hours during the two year period. Once this road is upgraded again in the coming three years, the Yangon-Thandwe trip can be conducted in seven hours.

Similarly, during the two year period, the road connecting Shan State south and north was widened to 18 ft and is upgraded into an asphalt road. Experts from China Highway Construction Association of China, JICA of Japan and Korea are inspecting the strength of 29 suspension bridges all over the country.

Department of Urban & Housing Development had completed drawing up urban planning for 33 cities in the country. In the housing sector, a million housings are planned to be constructed by 2030 and during the two year period 10,924 housing rooms of which 5,748 housing rooms were 100 per cent constructed while 5,176 housing rooms were 70 per cent completed. During the coming three year period, a total of more than 8,000 rooms will be constructed. Under the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) system, the department is constructing more 4,000 rooms and the companies are constructing 6,000 rooms totaling 10,000 rooms.

Department of Rural Department will construct all weather village roads for 80 per cent of villages for 80 percent of the rural population by 2030.

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation

U Hla Tun, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, said the ministry granted land use certificates for more than 24.8 million acres to farmers, reaching more than 91.99 per cent of the target of the ministry in the second year in office. In the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year, more than 17 million acres were put under paddy in summer and rainy seasons and more than 1,300 million baskets of rice were produced.

Up to February, 2018 of the 2017-2018 Fiscal year, paddy were grown on more than 17 million acres in both rainy and summer seasons and more than 1,100 million baskets of rice were produced.

In the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year, more than 3 million of matric tons of rice were exported up to March, 2018. It shows that the export volume of rice in 2017-2018 Fiscal Year has doubled than that of 2016-2017 Fiscal Year.

One of the significant achievements of the ministry set K500,000 for one hundred baskets of paddy as the basic index for the price of rice. The Ministry also formed 96 cooperative societies with 1896 people who are carrying out private farming services. Besides, the ministry sold 15,306 power tillers and 363 tractors to the farmers in the second one-year period of the government.

The ministry’s agricultural research department discovered 25 news species of rice.

In the fishery sector, the ministry’s 27 hatcheries produced more than 1.2 billion fingerlings in the second one-year period.

The fishery sector earned more than US$711 million from fish export to more than 40 countries in the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year. The ministry is carrying out the National Residue Monitoring Plan to export fish and prawn to EU countries.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar